


And Dance by the Light of the Moon

by SBG



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Gen, M/M, New Year's Eve, Schmoop, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 21:55:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9143713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SBG/pseuds/SBG
Summary: Grace has been granted a rare night out, and comes home to something unexpected that she should have expected.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Don't think I've ever written from Grace's POV before, probably won't again. I have no teenagers close in my life, so it's impossible to know how kids are these days. It's too stressful to try. LOL. Happy New Year, y'all.

“Byeeeee!” Kala and Britt both said together. “Happy New Year!”

“This was a great party,” Grace said, giving her friends quick, fierce hugs. “I had so much fun. Happy New Year!”

Kala’s house was still full of people, and Grace had a pang of resentment that she had to leave already, even though she knew she was lucky she’d even gotten to go at all. . She hadn’t expected her dad to allow her to go to a party tonight – besides being _him_ , he always said New Year’s was a horrible excuse for people to get trashed and drive drunk. She wasn’t sure what had ever happened to make him the way he was, but the older she got the more annoying he was. She loved him, but he was a big pain in the ass sometimes. 

Auntie Kono had once told her that it wouldn’t always be like this with her dad and she wanted to believe it, but it really didn’t feel like it. Dad was such a control freak. And just a regular freak, too. She shook her head. Why the hell was she thinking about her dad right now? She looked over to Will making the rounds, touching her fingertips to her lips. That was more like it. She swore she could still feel her first kiss at midnight on New Year’s. She ducked her head when Britt elbowed her and grinned wide.

“Shut up.”

“You guys are so cute together it makes me wanna puke,” Britt said. 

“Don’t listen to her, she’s a jealous bitch,” Kala said with a laugh, then pulled Britt away from Grace and back toward the rest of the party. “See you Tuesday!”

“See you guys.”

Winter break didn’t last nearly long enough, Grace thought. She wished again that she could stay, but also got a little weak-kneed when she felt Will’s hand warm and sure at the small of her back. Being with her friends for the flip of the calendar was nice; being alone with Will was better, even if it was just for the short ride to her dad’s house. She turned and took Will’s hand, laced her fingers with his. She ignored the hoots coming from the guys and the awwwws from the girls. She kind of felt proud about both, though, as she looked down at their hands. Best year ever.

Will guided her to the passenger side of the car, glad that _his_ dad had also had a moment of not total uncoolness in letting them drive themselves. Will was pretty new to having his license, but he was as good a driver as anyone she knew. Except maybe Uncle Steve. Not that she would tell Dad that. Like, ever. She tilted her head against the seat, smiling as Will put his hand on top of hers, brushed his thumb across it. Maybe she was wrong. Maybe the new year would be the best one ever.

“So did you see the way Benji was trying to get next to every single girl the closer it came to midnight?” she said. 

“My man Benji thinks he got moves,” Will said. “It’s so, so sad.”

They both burst out laughing. The party really had been a good time. So had the kiss. There had been something so special about it, though she couldn’t say why for sure. Grace flipped her hand over and held onto Will’s again. She hoped that fluttery feeling she got whenever she was alone with him would never go away. She closed her eyes, replaying some of the best parts of the night. 

None of the lights were on when Will pulled up to the house. Wariness killed a bit of her happy haze. She’d half expected Dad to be at the front windows, peering through the shades. She knew her dad’s M.O. and there was no way he wouldn’t be ready to pounce on her for being five minutes past the extended curfew he’d miraculously given her. She ran her hands down her thighs, anxious now. At least the Christmas lights were on, so it wouldn’t be a total surprise attack. 

“Uhm,” Will said, already sounding jumpy. “I thought your dad would be sitting out front with his gun.”

Grace laughed, a nervous little giggle that made her cringe internally the second it left her mouth. Will was chill, her best friend, really, but that didn’t mean she needed him to hear or see her be an idiot. She glanced at him and saw that he was only staring at the house, chewing on his lower lip. She knew he and her dad had come to some sort of truce the night of the winter formal – she frowned at the thought of that night – but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still weirded out. Clearly. 

“And is that Commander McGarrett’s truck?” 

Will’s voice had risen at least an octave. It was Grace’s turn to bite her lip, only this time to keep from laughing. If Uncle Steve was at her Dad’s, they had probably fallen asleep watching a movie or something. And if not, then Uncle Steve would be a good buffer for her; he was a lot more relaxed than Dad. 

“Yeah, it is. Don’t worry. It’s good if Uncle Steve’s here,” Grace said, but she had a feeling she needed to say good night fast anyway. She’d like another kiss. Judging from the freaked out look on Will’s face, that wasn’t going to happen. She chose the next best thing. “Hey, want to come in and say hi to them?”

“NO!” Will’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He cleared his throat. “I mean. No, no, that’s okay.”

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist.” Grace laughed and squeezed his hand. “I wouldn’t do that to you. I really like you a lot.”

Grace might even love him, but she wasn’t quite sure yet. She had grown up learning the benefits of being careful with her heart. Just a little. She added “be less careful” to her resolutions list and leaned across the car to give Will a quick peck. Just in case there were inappropriate, old, father-like eyes watching. As she pulled back, she caught Will looking starry-eyed.

“I really like you a lot, too.” Will’s phone started to ring. He flashed her his phone. “Ugh, dads.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I had a great time. I’ll see you.”

“See you, beautiful.”

She darted out of the car before Will could see her cheeks turning pink. Despite the assurance that Uncle Steve would mellow Dad out, Grace still opened the door very slowly and poked her head in. The house was quiet. Too quiet. She slipped out of her shoes and closed the door quietly. Still no sign of Dad or Uncle Steve, but there were beer bottles on the coffee table. She scrunched her face up for a second, then realized she should count herself lucky. No third degree, no chance Dad would sniff out that she’d had one teeny glass of real champagne tonight was another great way to start the year. 

As Grace walked toward her room she noticed movement out back on Dad’s small lanai. She almost darted down the hall and into her room to avoid being busted, but curiosity got the better of her. She felt like she was a little kid again, wanting to know what the grown-ups were doing after she went to bed. She changed her course and tucked herself to the side of the open lanai doors, out of sight. 

And then nearly squeaked at what she saw, had to cover her mouth with her hands.

Though the light from the house was dim, Grace watched her dad and Unc… Steve swaying together in a way that she could only see as very romantic. Like, they were hearing their own music, movie romantic and not at all like two regular friends. She couldn’t look away from Steve’s hand cupping her dad’s head, the thumb moving gently at the little swirly thing at the nape of his neck. It looked so … not new. Of all the things she might have expected, this was low on the list. She wasn’t sure why, given how in each other’s lives Dad and Steve had always been. She also wasn’t sure how she felt about seeing her dad like this with a guy. Even if it was Steve. 

Grace stared a while longer, her mind racing. If she really thought about it, objectively, like Dad always tried to coach her to do, they made sense together. They couldn’t see it, but for all the ways they were different, deep down they were the same. They even shared an organ now. One other than their hearts, apparently. She smiled at that, relaxed a bit. 

She heard them speaking quietly to each other, couldn’t make out the words and didn’t want to anyway. The longer she stood there watching, the more okay she found herself with this surprise. She began to back away from the private moment, knew they’d tell her when they thought it was the right time and starting to feel like an intruder. Her eyes filled with tears for some reason. Happiness, maybe a little sadness. She glanced to the sky to clear them. The moon was nowhere near full, but she suddenly thought about _It’s a Wonderful Life_ , which she and Mom had watched last week like they did every year just before Christmas. Happiness, definitely. This was a new beginning and she couldn’t think of two people who deserved it more than Dad and Steve.

“And dance by the light of the moon,” Grace sang softly to herself, going to bed knowing that the coming year was going to be great for Dad too.


End file.
